


dreams of snowfall in the dead of summer

by esnoyuuutsu



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Gen, but only because i lifted the plot for the play from it, part of the august is hajime conspiracy theory, so if you intend to play it and don't want spoils i guess don't read this?, technically a crossover with professor layton and the unwound/lost future, the rest of spring and winter are there but those are the important ones yea, this is basically a wholeass event story never let me do this again, tsuzuru is literally psychic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-28 14:19:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18758146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esnoyuuutsu/pseuds/esnoyuuutsu
Summary: There are no such things as psychics, but if writing resolutions to his friends' stories in the form of plays could help them in any way, Tsuzuru supposed it could have been worse.[lots of spoilers for acts 5 and 8!!some stuff is inaccurate bc it was written before the new event]





	1. a stranger on the street

“How does that sound, Tsuzuru-kun?”

Tsuzuru’s mind was racing. Images flashed past his eyes when he blinked—a boy waiting alone for his family, a dropped necklace clutched in gloved fingertips, the full moon reflected in a pool of blood, a young man waiting in an empty hideout. He was sure to get a headache soon.

“Tsuzuru-kun, are you alright?”

He shook his head, and realising what that meant, quickly nodded instead.

“Yeah. I’m fine, Director. Something mixed for Spring and Winter together, right?” When Izumi agreed, Tsuzuru smiled distantly, the thoughts pushing and shoving in his skull, already hearing Masumi’s complaints about having to take care of him while he was writing.

“I think I have some ideas that could work.”

 

* * *

 

_ “—but I told him if he grows out his bangs, he’s not going to be able to see anything! I already have enough trouble with him falling asleep everywhere, August, please.” _

_ Chikage’s—no, not quite yet, someone else’s—voice rang out in protest, a soft laugh its reply. _

_ “Oh, April, there’s no need to shout.” The other man—August, apparently—put a hand to his lips, smile crinkling the corners of his honey-lemon yellow eyes. For a stranger, everything about him—the gentle lilt of his voice, the almost heavenly light shining off his silver hair, the effortless grace in every movement—seemed uncomfortably familiar, like mistaking a stranger on the street for a friend. “December, come here.” _

_ Still December, not yet Hisoka, shuffled over, dropping onto the sofa next to August. _

_ “Don’t pout. You’re a grown man.” April scoffed. _

_ December responded by sticking out his tongue. _

_ “Hey, hey, stop it.” said August, with a note of amusement. “If you two don’t play nice, I’ll have to do something like put you in one of those giant get along shirts or handcuff you together for a day.” _

_ April visibly paled. “You wouldn’t.” _

_ “Hmm.” A teasing smile on his face, August didn’t answer, instead turning his attention back to December. Carefully, he brushed December’s hair from his right eye, its green dull and cloudy next to the other. “Now, I know you don’t want to admit it, but April’s right. It isn’t safe for you to have your hair in your face. He worries about you too, you know.” _

_ Pulling a few loose strands far enough before his eyes to see, December stared at them thoughtfully. “If it’s just over my right eye, it’s fine, right? Not like it works anyway.” _

_ “December…” _

_ He looked up at August, expression softening. “I know, I know, I won’t be able to see properly, I look better when you can see my entire face, that’s why you cut my hair, I remember. It’s just…” He trailed off, a hand going up to his right cheek. _

_ August sighed, wrapping his arms around December, looking for all the world like a parent cradling his child. “If that’s really what you want, then I guess I can’t stop you. But you have to promise me that you’ll be careful. No putting yourself or April in danger because you weren’t paying attention. Okay, December?” _

_ “Okay.” _

_ His eyes elsewhere, August stroked December’s hair. “Besides, I’m sure that even if you do grow out your hair again...it’ll look lovely.” _

 

* * *

 

“Tsuzuru.”

At the mention of his name, Tsuzuru jerked back to consciousness.

“Seriously, you have to take better care of yourself. I’m not always around to shove noodles in your mouth.” As always, Masumi hid his concern behind scowls and complaints, but Tsuzuru appreciated it nonetheless. “Look, I’m pretty sure even you can’t write with your eyes closed. If you’re going to sleep, you might as well do it in your bed so that I don’t have to drag you there later.”

Tsuzuru shook his head, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “It’s fine, I can keep going.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. You can go to sleep ahead of me if you want.”

“Like I really have a choice.” Masumi yawned. “I’m staying up with you.”

“Aww—” began Tsuzuru, with a smile.

“Don’t.” said Masumi, with a half-hearted eyeroll.

After a drink, with (somewhat) fresh eyes and Masumi next to him snack in hand, Tsuzuru turned back to the script.

 

* * *

 

Tsuzuru’s eyelids flickered, face shoved in the living room couch’s cushions.

“Here’s the script.” In his place, Masumi lovingly handed Izumi a freshly printed copy of the script finished off the night before for her to peruse.

She started flipping through it, but paused, a look of concern growing as she glanced between Tsuzuru half-conscious on the sofa and Masumi just inches away from passing out himself. “Did he...you...the two of you pull another all-nighter for this?”

A sleepy murmur of agreement. “But don’t worry, I made sure he ate. And I actually cooked the noodles this time too, so please be proud of me.” After waiting expectantly for acknowledgement which came in the form of a hesitant nod from Izumi, he sighed. “I read through the script and it seems fine, but I’m pretty sure he wrote a lot of it while sleeping with his eyes open.”

Her concerns in no way addressed, Izumi nevertheless sent Masumi off to fetch the rest of Spring and Winter as she began to read.

 

* * *

 

“Time travel…?”

Hisoka uncertainly leafed through the pages, furrowing what was visible of his brow.

Tsuzuru stirred from the sofa. “Everyone has some sort of regret in their past. Things they wish they’d done, people they wish they could see again, and nobody really knows what they’d do given the chance to go back and redo things. So I thought I might try to handle that a little with Spring and Winter, since lately our themes are pretty complicated.”

“Tsuzuru, this is basically a regular full play.” said Itaru, shaking his head.

“I thought it was...important…” Trailing off as he fell back asleep, Tsuzuru collapsed once more into the sofa cushions, Citron gently turning his face upward to keep him from suffocating.

Chikage cleared his throat. “I figure I might as well say this up front now, so this guy, the main antagonist? The one who lies about his identity to everyone and is out for revenge?”

There was a pause of silent acknowledgement.

“That one is probably written for me, right.”

“About that,” said Tsuzuru, sitting up again despite the others’ protests. “I meant it for Yukishiro-san.”

Azuma’s eyes widened. “Me?”

Nodding, Izumi said, more to herself than to anyone else, “Azuma-san rarely does get angry, so this kind of role that’s gentle and unassuming at first but turns out to have a lot of buried resentment would be interesting to see him in.”

“Certainly better than me getting it for the third time.” Tsumugi smiled, first at Izumi, then turning to Azuma, who was going through the script again.

“...revenge for a lost sibling, huh.”

“If it’s ever too much for you, just know—”

Carefully lifting Tsumugi’s hand from where it had placed itself on his arm, Azuma laced their fingers together. “I know, I know, Winter and Spring and the director are all here. Don’t worry, I won’t run off like I did during Nocturnality again. Promise.”

Azuma ran his free hand through his hair, looking back and forth between Chikage and Tsuzuru. “Anyway, if this role is supposed to be for me, then was there one specifically for Chikage?”

“The scientist.”

“The…?” Chikage rifled through the pages he was holding. “...the scientist with an elaborate plan to rescue his loved one from an accident that he thinks he could have prevented.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You know, Tsuzuru, one of these days I’m going to ask you why you keep writing such specific roles.” Gesturing with a rolled-up copy of the script, he continued. “Let me guess, since that one is mine, the protagonist must be Hisoka.”

Hisoka looked up, single eye wide like a deer in headlights, the edges of the papers crumpling lightly in his hands.

“Oh, it is a little like the reverse of his role in Mystery, isn’t it?” Homare nodded, a hand to his chin. “Rather than being the charge, he becomes the caretaker.”

With a grin, Chikage agreed. “Except his partner is still smarter than him.”

“Well…” Ignoring his comment, Hisoka turned to a page near the end of the script, deep in thought. “I guess if this is how I have to face it, then…”

He glanced around the room, jumping from Azuma to Chikage to Izumi and finally settling on Tsuzuru. "It isn't the first time I've gotten a role like this, so I can do it."

"Hm? When was that?"

"Sympathy." Hisoka paused. "It's okay if you guys didn't know, I'll tell you when I'm ready."

Chikage frowned at the mention of the play, as if recalling something that had occurred to him at the time, but which he hadn't gotten the chance to process. He said nothing, only giving Hisoka a look no one else was sure to understand.

"...anyway, if that's settled, how about Sakuya-kun for Hisoka-san's assistant?" said Izumi, still unsure how to interpret their unspoken conversations. "Since the play is mixed, it would be nice to show the audience more interactions between people that aren't usually together."

Sakuya looked up. "Me? I do like the idea of being an assistant to someone sort of like a detective, but don't I have to act smarter than…?"

"It's okay, Sakuya." Hisoka said, not lifting his eye from the lines he was rereading.

"I...I'll do my best!"

"Ah," Homare held one finger aloft with a smile on his face. "Then it must be me for his counterpart in the future, correct?"

"Oh! Because we both have red hair?"

"Precisely.” His hand flicked through his uneven bangs to ruffle Sakuya’s hair. “After all, there is no other requirement in this instance for a future iteration than a mere passing resemblance."

"It's about the same as me and Hisoka, then." Azuma said thoughtfully. "I hope Azami has fun."

Itaru spoke up. "Speaking of resemblance, if there's anyone who can play Azuma-san's brother here, it's probably Tsumugi."

"We aren't anything alike, though?"

"Surely, Tsukioka can act enough like Yukishiro for it to be credible."

"Come on. If you can do me, you can do Azuma-san." Raising an eyebrow to match his wording, Itaru flashed a smile in Tsumugi's direction.

Tsumugi opened his mouth to respond, but came up with nothing, laughing instead. “I guess we’ll be spending a lot more time together, huh, Azuma-san?”

“Wait…” said Masumi, speaking for the first time since he’d gathered the rest of Spring and Winter together. “Won’t it be pretty obvious that Azuma is older than Tsumugi. How’s he supposed to be the younger brother?”

Azuma’s hand went up to his mouth, eyelashes fluttering in feigned shock. “Masumi, put that sharp tongue away, you might hurt someone!”

“Real age differences aside, there is time travel involved, is there not? It isn’t too much of a stretch if Tsumugi-kun is younger than Azuma-san if he’s from a time already passed.”

The others concurred, and with the important characters handled, the rest of the casting went by without a hitch—letting Spring and Winter disperse for the moment, Tasuku and Chikage helping carry Tsuzuru from the couch up to his room, to dream until rehearsals began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i completely intended this to be tsuzuru focus, even with the backstory he's seeing being gekkagumi / yukishiros. i'm a fool. i'm so sorry my sweet child.


	2. in the month of june beneath the mystic moon

_“—Hajime-niisan, should I get my hair cut?”_

_Azuma, still young, bright-eyed and innocent, turned to his older brother._

_“Why? Come here, I’ll fix it for you.” Picking up a brush and a couple of hairties, Hajime took a seat at the foot of Azuma’s bed._

_“Mm…” Azuma moved closer, sitting cross-legged and absently playing with the sheets. “I don’t know how to do it up every day? Long hair seems hard to take care of too.”_

_“Well, you can just ask m—” Hajime paused, mid-braid. “You can ask Mom to teach you. She’s the one who taught me how, in case I was going to have a sister. Which...I didn’t, obviously, but I’m glad it came in handy anyway.”_

_“I’m sure you’ll look fine even without me here to help you with your hair, Azuma, it’s very pretty.” Taking care not to pull too tightly, Hajime finished tying it up, and gave his brother a gentle pat._

_“Hajime-niisan…”_

_Sniffling, Azuma threw his arms around Hajime, burying his face in his shirt. Hajime froze for a second in surprise—as it seemed even as a young child, very little bothered Azuma to the point of tears—before returning the hug, continuing to pat his head._

_“Hey, hey, what’s the matter? Come on, Azuma, it’s okay…” “...I’m gonna miss you, niisan...”_

_Hajime laughed softly. “Is that what’s wrong? Aw, don’t worry, I’ll be home during holidays. You can come see me too when you don’t have school.”_

_“But I have to be alone in this room.” Azuma looked up, frowning. “If I wake up in the middle of the night, you won’t be there.”_

_Wiping away Azuma’s tears with his sleeve, Hajime smiled. “You’re going to be in middle school soon, right? You’re old enough to sleep by yourself—it’ll be your birthday soon, too! Besides, if you get lonely, Mom and Dad are just in the next room over.”_

_“You’ll be fine, I promise.”_

 

* * *

 

"I'm…"

Tsumugi paused, avoiding Sakuya’s inquiring gaze and Hisoka’s wary eye.

“...his younger brother.” Almost apologetic, he continued. “We weren’t always close, but after that accident, I needed to find out what happened to him.”

Next to Tsuzuru, Azuma began to murmur to himself, repeatedly flipping back and forth between the same two pages of the script.

“Yukishiro-san? Is something wrong?”

Startled, Azuma shook his head. “No…? No, I just...I know I come in after this part, so I was just checking.”

“But,” he added, one hand restlessly running through his ponytail. “Did you talk to anyone in Winter while writing this?”

“About what?”

Azuma paused, and shook his head. “Never mind. It’s probably just a coincidence.”

Tsuzuru nodded, pushing away all mental images of the young Yukishiro siblings. He’d never written this specifically before, and more likely than not the new play was cutting it close. Nobody had pointed it out just yet—though Chikage had thrown him some strange looks—but then again, in two years of writing overly specific plays for Mankai, he had never once been directly questioned.

But for the most part, everyone seemed to be taking it well, and as they approached the end, it seemed as if any big obstacles between them and opening night had yet to rear their heads.

“Please…” said Hisoka, Tsumugi’s hands clutched in his own. “Don’t go. I can’t say goodbye again—I won’t!”

Tsumugi took Hisoka’s face in his hands, gently, glancing between him, Azuma, and Chikage. “I know you can be strong...and live.”

He began to walk away slowly, turning to look back at them only once—but Hisoka remained frozen in place, attention a million miles away.

“Hisoka.” Chikage nudged his shoulder. “Are you there?”

“...yeah, sorry.” Expression lost and response yet distant, Hisoka blinked. “I was...thinking about something.”

What little of the play remained finished off with Hisoka in a daze, absently shaking his head when Izumi asked what the matter was, and Chikage pulled him aside as the other actors left for the break.

“What was that.”

“Nothing.” Hisoka’s eye shifted around the room. “...August said something a little like that, before he threw me off the cliff.”

“Hm.” Lines connecting themselves to each other in Chikage’s mind, he said nothing. He caught Tsuzuru at the edge of his vision, and the corners of his mouth pulled up in a cryptic smile.

 

* * *

 

“Thanks again for this,” said Chikage. Taking a call at an hour when Itaru was sure to be radiating suspicion and curiosity from behind his game controller, Chikage was out in the garden.

The voice on the other end laughed. “Don’t worry, April. I’ll probably have you make it up to me somehow.”

“But it’s been two years and you’re asking about August? I get that he’s the only person you’ve ever truly loved in twenty-something years, but come on.”

Looking up at the full moon shining through the trees, Chikage sighed. He was beginning to question if the information he wanted was worth this phone call. “There are just...things I need to know.”

“You’re right.” A pause. “What ever happened to looking for December? We can only keep you there for so long. And with a traitor running around, there can’t be a lot of time for you to continue...whatever it is you’re doing.”

“Eventually, you won’t have any left. And what will August’s memory do for you then, April?”

The silence, punctuated with rustling leaves and things moving in the dark, hovered over Chikage’s head as a blade ready to drop.

“Ju—” Before he could get a word in edgewise, he was interrupted.

“Well, I’ll send you whatever I can find. Don’t worry, it’s our secret.”

Chikage could almost see the smile framed between dangling earrings through the phone. With a drawled out “Bye, April!” the garden was quiet once more.

 

* * *

 

“Then why take the risk? What do you stand to gain?”

Hisoka stared up at Chikage, who shook his head.

“Everything.” he said, anguish shining behind his glasses. “You see, you’re not the only one who loved Clair.”

“And you’re going to travel back in time to save him?”

“Surely, you aren’t thinking of stopping me.” A bitter smile. “After all, haven’t you wished for this yourself?”

Izumi, watching intently from the sidelines, was reminded of their conversation in the secret hideout. She still didn’t know everything that had led up to that point, but as always, Tsuzuru’s scripts unwittingly held a shard of reality sharpened precisely for their actors, even in unlikely scenarios.

“Nothing can excuse kidnapping all those scientists.” Hisoka hesitated, his eye flicking from Izumi to Chikage. “Not even this, Allen.”

"You disappoint me. Here I thought a man such as yourself would understand the ends justify the means."

She winced. Perhaps it was almost too fitting, but Izumi could let it pass for the sake of good theatre. There was an edge to Hisoka and Chikage brought out by this script, one that would not have bared itself without such additions.

Izumi looked over at Tsuzuru, who was deep in thought, and wondered what could possibly be going on in his head.

As they reached the end of the scene, a phone rang out.

"...sorry, that's mine." said Chikage. "Do you mind?"

"It's fine." Izumi waved a hand. "I was just going to say we could take a break anyway."

He flashed a smile to the rest of the room. "It's just work, or something."

Behind his phone, Itaru snorted, a _sure, right, i believe you, senpai_ of doubt.

Picking up and switching to English, Chikage walked out of the room. "Hello? Just give me a second."

Itaru looked up. "Yeah, that's probably not work."

As the others began to talk about the play, Hisoka quietly slipped out.

 

* * *

 

"What's that."

Tensing up in surprise, Chikage threw Hisoka a glare. "Not your business anymore."

Hisoka tilted his head. "If you're taking mystery calls during rehearsal and being suspicious in front of everyone, I think it kinda is my business."

"No, no it isn't." Chikage shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Don't worry, it's nothing. Come on, let's go back."

Unperturbed, Hisoka trailed after him back to rehearsal.

 

* * *

 

Deep into the night, Chikage was sequestered in the hideout, rapidly searching through documents he'd received, heart sinking further with every one.

"...Chikage."

Stifling a yell, he slammed his laptop shut, whirling around to face Hisoka.

"Stop doing that!" Gathering his wits, he continued, "You followed me? What if someone saw you?"

Hisoka pulled at his sleeves, lips curled into a pout. "Everyone over there thinks I'm dead, and nobody in Mankai knows I'm here."

"Well, one of those assumptions is definitely wrong, so."

"April," said Hisoka, using Chikage's other name for the first time in a while. "We were always supposed to work together. Even though we didn't like it, August tried to make sure we got along."

"It's when we started doubting each other that bad things happened." A breath. "You don't have to keep anything from me."

"Don't you think I know that? But snooping around in organisation business is dangerous enough as it is for me alone without you here too."

The two of them were silent, for a moment, the room deafening.

Chikage sighed. "Just...promise me you won't tell Winter. Or Kantoku-san. I know they make you reckless, even more than you were with me and August, so I have to hear it.”

“...I promise.”

Gesturing to a spot on the sofa at his side, Chikage opened up his laptop again. Hisoka took a seat, pulling his legs up to his chest, peering at the screen.

Looking back at him, from a time long gone, were the familiar golden eyes and silver hair that had watched over him through most of his life—and yet, different. Much, much younger, and not nearly as tired. Next to the photograph was a name, just as out of place as it was recognisable for Hisoka.

“Yukishiro…” Hisoka frowned. “That has to be a coincidence, right? Isn’t this August?”

“It is, from before he met us.” said Chikage, threading together the thoughts he’d had spiralling in his mind as he read. “Before our organisation took him in and turned him into August, he was a normal teenager, living with his normal parents. They had two kids: August or, rather, Hajime, and—”

“Azuma.” Brow knit in concentration, Hisoka finished the sentence.

“Exactly. So that’s why you can’t tell—”

“No, we have to tell him.” Sitting up straight and looking Chikage right in the eye, he interrupted. “We have to.”

“Have you already forgotten what you just said to me?” Chikage almost couldn’t believe his ears, except he could, as Hisoka had always been stubborn and single-minded. “Besides, what good would it do Azuma-san?”

“Knowing that all this time, his brother was alive, caring for us instead of him? And that even now, they can’t meet each other because August is gone?”

Hisoka balled up his hands in his sleeves, resolute. “It’s his family, Chikage. If you hadn’t thought I was the traitor, wouldn’t you have wanted to know I was alive? Even if I was living happily with someone else.”

“Listen.” Chikage said, every feeling he’d had following August’s death beginning to boil in his chest. Shock, grief, sorrow, fear, all pushed down and safely locked away in favour of anger and hatred. “I know you think that Winter will always accept and understand you, and that includes Azuma-san. And you’re probably right.”

“But I don’t want to hurt him any more than he’s already been. And you, wanting to protect Azuma-san, should understand that better than anyone else.”

They went quiet again, Hisoka’s eye flickering back and forth, as if searching for an answer on Chikage’s face.

“If you don’t tell him, then I’m going to.”

“ _Hisoka._ ”

Without another word, Hisoka slipped off the couch and out into the darkness.

Chikage set his glasses down on the table, rubbing his eyes in frustration. He scrolled back to the end of the email the documents had come with.

> _You know, now that you bring him up, can we really be sure that August is dead? After all, we thought December was dead, but that turned out to be wrong._
> 
> _Just something for you to consider._

Every sound echoing back at him in the empty room, he shut his laptop and his eyes for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope yall know i lost my shit at the announcement bc unwound future has several scenes in a casino. i'm the real psychic here.
> 
> next update tomorrow before the poster comes out !!!


	3. even now, you are my light

_ By all rights, Yukishiro Hajime should have died. _

_ Technically speaking, he did. _

_ From the moment he was picked out of the twisted wreck of a car accident, gasping and sobbing for his parents, his brother, and nursed back to health in the safety of an organisation he'd never heard of, the boy known as Yukishiro Hajime was dead. _

_ In his place was August, an agent swiftly rising up the ranks with a quick wit under gentle demeanour, to the point that if he took two children under his wing, anyone would think twice before questioning him. _

_ He cared for them as the family he'd lost, and the one they'd never had. Every day as he taught them as best as he could, and every night as they went out under cover of darkness, August would tell himself that this was better for them—that otherwise, April would be living in an unhappy home, that December would have frozen to death on the street—though he knew that above all, they were a sign of his own selfishness. If he could not have his old family back, he could have another. And when the time came that it was too dangerous for them to continue, he could set them free. _

_ Even so, despite all his rationalisation, he loved them.  _

_ He loved April and December—just as much as the little brother he never forgot, and as much as he knew Azuma would never forgive him. _

 

* * *

 

Tensions were rising between Spring and Winter—or, more precisely, Chikage and Hisoka. Even out of character, their atmosphere was far from the usual not quite unfriendly sarcastic remark and offhand reference to their shady background, the only thing keeping them from outright argument apparently the presence of everyone else.

Being what he was, Tsuzuru didn't think it was likely that the reason they had become like this had nothing to do with what he'd written, and at two years' worth of plays, he could only hope that this time would work out just as well.

And besides, despite every dream, every exact detail that made its way into his mind, Tsuzuru knew there were no such things as psychics. As an outsider, this was the best he could do.

Some members of Winter, on the other hand, had different ideas.

"Hisoka? Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?" Azuma, light as a feather, settled down next to Hisoka on the lesson room floor.

"...won't that bother Guy?" Hisoka didn't stir, staring blankly at a marshmallow in his hand.

"Don't worry, he said he wouldn't mind staying with Homare for the night." Lightly resting a hand on Hisoka’s shoulder, he went on. "We're all worried about you and Chikage, you know? And while I can't say I understand what's happening between you, I want to do what I can."

"So that we can all perform and do our best together. Right?"

Hisoka glanced over at the other side of the room, where Chikage, more tired than anything, almost imperceptibly shook his head.

He looked up to meet Azuma's eyes, nearly the same eyes that had watched him grow, made sure he was warm and safe, those eyes he'd been forced to helplessly watch the life drain from.

"Right."

As if to keep his tongue from spilling any more words just yet, Hisoka put the marshmallow in his mouth.

 

* * *

 

Azuma held Hisoka to his chest, close enough to hear the dull thud of his heartbeat and the low whisper of his breath, and enveloped once again by his delicate scent of flowers, Hisoka was at ease, if only for a moment. There was never a right time to discuss anything with anyone in Winter—most of them having to be backed into a corner before letting the others get the slightest idea of what was wrong—and this was no exception.

But in his heart, he knew Azuma had to hear it from someone who would understand. After all, though it hurt to remember losing August, to find out Chikage resented him, knowing that somewhere out there he'd had someone thinking of him was a comfort.

"Azuma…"

“Yes?”

“If...if there was someone you cared about, who you hadn’t seen in a long time. And you knew you could never see them again.” Hisoka hesitated, trying to string the words together in his mind. “But you knew they’d had a good life and happy memories.”

“Hmm.” Azuma softly ran his fingers through Hisoka’s hair. “And…? You’d like to know how I’d feel?”

“I can’t say I wouldn’t be at least a little sad,” he said, a wistful half-laugh. “I probably would have preferred being there with them. But...someone I truly cared for…? I think just knowing that they were happy, even if I didn’t get to see it...that’d be enough for me.”

“Why do you ask?”

Hisoka couldn’t look up. As much as he wanted to be the one who took his hand and led him through these troubling times, the mere idea of upsetting Azuma had stuck in his thoughts like a splinter. He could already hear Chikage saying  _ i told you so _ .

He buried his face in Azuma’s shirt, shaking his head.

"Can't tell you. Classified information."

The comforting sound of Azuma's laughter filled his ears, and Hisoka drew his arms around him tighter. "Was this person very important to you?"

Not wanting to speak any more, Hisoka simply nodded.

"They must have been wonderful," said Azuma.

_He was_ , thought Hisoka.

 

* * *

 

"Chikage?"

Azuma sweetly calling his name was eliciting about the same response he’d have to anything else sweet. The jig was up, or so it seemed, and Chikage couldn't avoid him forever.

"Do you have a minute? Hisoka and I were talking last night, and—”

"Look, I told him not to tell you."

Azuma stopped, confused. "I get that there's a lot you can't talk to me about, but I feel like there's something off I'm just...missing."

"If there's anything, anything at all that I can do, then please." He slipped his hands around Chikage's, soft and inviting. "I understand just how hard it is going through everything on your own. But neither of you have to do it any more."

Chikage stood, in contemplation, considering his options. Azuma was right, of course, as was Hisoka when he’d said nearly the same, though he’d hate to admit it. Alone, August’s loss and Hajime’s disappearance would have been too much—but as the warmth from Azuma’s hands began to spread through his own, he thought that maybe, just maybe, the three of them would be able to carry that burden together. He led Azuma to the living room sofa, carefully taking a seat.

“Well...you know Hisoka and I grew up together, right? He’s just been the same as he is now, ever since we were kids.” Chikage began to explain, slowly, giving himself enough time to pick out details he could leave out. “And there was...someone. A person who raised us, taught us everything that we know. He even picked Hisoka up off the street.”

Unsure of whether or not that was an exaggeration, Azuma tilted his head, but said nothing.

“He...he was…”  _ Everything _ , thought Chikage, struggling to get the words through as Azuma squeezed his hand in support. “...he was our family. But he’s gone.”

“He must have been really something, for you and Hisoka to grow up the way you have.”

A pause.

A deep breath.

A look at Azuma’s kindly smile, reminding him of every day he’d come home to welcoming laughter and far too many sweets.

“He was your brother.”

The smile faded. “Sorry, could you say that again? It sounded like you said—”

Regretting his change of heart, Chikage repeated himself nonetheless. “The man who raised me and Hisoka...was your older brother.”

Quickly freeing his hands, Azuma shook his head. “Chikage, if this is your way of getting too into character, I’d suggest you try something else.” He laughed, but his eyes darted back and forth like that of a cornered animal.

“No, I...look. We knew him by another name, but his real one was Yukishiro Hajime, he got picked up after an accident, if you need me to prove his identity, I—”

“No.” Azuma put a trembling hand to his mouth. “I...I believe you. This just doesn’t seem like something that you would lie to me about. But...” His shoulders began to shake.

“But what? You...you knew? This whole time you knew that he was my brother and you were keeping it a secret from me?”

“No, we only just found out—”

“But you were going to keep it from me anyway!” Azuma’s voice was strained. “You said you told Hisoka not to say anything.”

He bit his lip, nails digging into his lap. “I’m not going to say that he was any more family to me than he was to you just because we’re related by blood. Honestly, at this point you two have probably known him longer than I have.” He looked up, eyebrows drawn together, yellow eyes shining. “But I still have a right to know what happened. Even if you can’t tell me everything.”

“Azuma-san…” Chikage felt more than ever there was a reason he never told the truth. “Telling you too much could have put you in danger. If there were a time it was safe for me and Hisoka to tell you and everyone else here everything, I would’ve done it then, but not knowing wasn’t hurting you. Look! Just finding out, you…”

Azuma’s gaze was digging into his skull.

Standing up, Azuma wiped his eyes. “I’m going to go and calm down. Before either of us says anything else we might regret.”

Chikage slumped back in the sofa, staring up at the ceiling as Azuma walked off.

_ August, if you’re out there… _

 

* * *

 

“But if we aren’t really in the future, then that means…” Sakuya looked over at Azuma, concern rising in his voice.

“It does cast suspicion on the person who made us think we were in the first place, yes.” Hisoka turned. “With the detective’s help, I’ve confirmed that Clair did have a younger brother—their parents passed away when they were children, and with the accident, he was left by himself.”

“It must have been the simplest thing in the world for you to manipulate Allen’s revenge plot to your own ends. Isn’t that right, Clive?”

Azuma’s eyes widened in feigned shock, expression then twisting into a spiteful grin. “As expected of the good professor, I couldn’t hide from you for long.”

“Thanks to the two of you—” Looking at Hisoka and Chikage, Azuma’s breath caught halfway through the line. “Because of you...my…”

“I’m sorry, I...I can’t do this.”

Shaking his head, he ran out of the room, one hand over his mouth.

“Azuma-san?” Sakuya turned from door to director to other members of Winter and Spring. “Should...should we go after him?”

Izumi made to follow, but after trading a look with Hisoka, Chikage gestured for her to wait. “We’ll go.”

It didn’t take long for them to find Azuma, sitting out in the garden with his face buried in his hands.

“Azuma…”

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking up with tear-streaked cheeks and trembling shoulders. “I know I’m causing a lot of trouble for everyone, and I promised Tsumugi I wouldn’t do this again—”

“There’s nothing for you to apologise for, Azuma-san.” Chikage sat down next to him, with Hisoka on the other side, putting a hand on his arm. “You were right. Au—I mean...Hajime-san, was part of your family.”

“But he was part of yours too!” Azuma replied, breath yet shuddering. “I just...I had to live thinking that I might never see him again. I still won’t, but...he was out there, somewhere, and I...was alone.”

Hisoka clutched Azuma’s hand. “You aren’t anymore. I’m here. So is Chikage, and everyone in Mankai. We’ll be right here for you, always.”

Nodding, Azuma’s eyelids began to flutter. “And...and if my brother raised you, and cared for you both, and somehow you ended up here with me...then I swear as long as we’re here together, I’ll love you just as much as he did.”

Chikage wiped a tear from Azuma’s eye, as Azuma wrapped his arms around him and Hisoka.

_...if you’re out there, I think we’re going to be okay. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is wild to me that the parts that're closest to a3 stuff are the ones i barely changed???? perfect crossover. thank u prof layton
> 
> i made it just barely in time, please stay tuned for the play itself with some Other Stuff and maybe an epilogue if i have the brainpower


	4. the lost future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun game: guess which things in here are written directly as they happened in unwound future, and which things are things i changed

London, 20XX.

A new scientific discovery is about to be unveiled to the public for the first time, and in the audience, aside from the numerous photographers and journalists, are an archaeology professor and his trusty assistant (played by Hisoka and Sakuya), a notorious politician (Citron, channelling his younger brothers), and a detective of some renown with his partner less so (Tsuzuru and Tasuku, in supporting roles as the mostly useless police).

Chikage, the scientist making his announcement, steps up. His new invention, looming in the background, is the once impossible time machine. He calls on Citron as a volunteer and, after some cajoling, gets him to step inside—followed by an explosion. Once the dust clears, both of them are gone.

 

* * *

 

A few weeks later, Hisoka and Sakuya receive a letter—signed by a future version of the professor himself. It takes them to a secluded clock shop, run by Guy, who uses the shop's hidden time machine to take them ten years into the future.

There, they meet Itaru, a future friend of the professor’s, who leads them around town to prove that they are in fact no longer in their own time. Once they’re convinced, Itaru directs them to the local casino to meet their future selves.

On the way, Hisoka passes someone familiar, hauntingly so, and gives chase—but once he reaches the end of the stage, they’re gone.

At the casino, Azuma (in short hair once again) introduces himself as Hisoka’s future self. He explains that in the past ten years, London has been taken over by a crime syndicate, the face of whom is an older Sakuya with someone else pulling strings behind the scenes. On his own he couldn’t make any progress against them, but perhaps with another version of himself and a younger Sakuya yet untouched by villainy, there might be a chance of saving their city.

“But...me?” says Sakuya.

“Of course. Between you and us, I think we know who’s doing most of the thinking around here.” Azuma laughs, with some titters from the audience.

Their discussion is cut short by the supposed future Sakuya himself (Homare, with his hair temporarily evened out), leading a slew of gangsters that open fire on them. Using broken slot machine parts, the three of them construct a makeshift machine gun and escape.

 

* * *

 

 

They meet up wiith Itaru, who tells them about the gang’s base. It’s swarming with guards, so while Azuma puts together a plan to get them in, Hisoka and Sakuya return to the past to pick up some resources. There, Masumi, Hisoka’s oft-neglected adopted child, corners the two of them for leaving him behind while they go off on an adventure and tell him nothing, even as Hisoka reasons that it’s for his own safety—

 

_ Is this how Azuma felt?  _ Hisoka thinks.

_ Chikage didn’t want to say anything, and I couldn’t tell him. _

_...I’m just glad things worked out in the end. _

 

—and while Masumi is distracted, the two of them leave with the notes they needed.

Tsuzuru and Tasuku make another appearance, as Hisoka asks them about the failed time machine and another similar experiment from ten years ago. Tsuzuru reluctantly hands over the related files, and is subsequently bewildered at the suggestion that Citron could be held hostage in the future, but Hisoka and Sakuya make their way back to the clock shop before explaining further.

Unfortunately, everyone from Tsuzuru to Masumi crashes into the clock shop all at once, and Guy throws them all into the future with reckless abandon.

 

* * *

 

Hisoka and Sakuya continue their advance towards the gangsters’ hideout, with Masumi trailing behind, and joined by Azuma once again. They climb a spiralling tower filled with puzzles and traps, and eventually make it to the top, where they’re confronted by a waiting Homare and Chikage.

Chikage reveals that he lured Hisoka into the future to use his memory of the experiment to recreate it in order to go back in time—saving their beloved mentor and second family, who perished in the explosion.

“After all, haven’t you wished for this yourself?”

 

_ If we could bring back August...if we could bring him back… _

Chikage considers it for a moment.

_ I guess Tsuzuru’s right here too. Holding on to the past by hurting the present is no good for anyone. _

_...I should probably talk to him about why his writing’s so accurate, _ he adds as an afterthought.

 

Homare keeping everyone at a reasonable distance, he and Chikage escape with an incapacitated Citron in tow.

 

* * *

Tsuzuru runs into Hisoka and friends, talking about someone that looked like Tsumugi, and Hisoka asks him to look into Tsumugi’s family for him. The rest of them make their way towards a suspected secret laboratory where the time machine is being constructed.

There, they meet Tsumugi, who is apparently not the same person who died in the failed experiment, but his younger brother also trying to find out what really happened. Between him and Hisoka, they explain that the explosion didn’t just destroy the laboratory it was in, it also destroyed several nearby apartments with a great number of casualties. When Hisoka had tried to investigate, he was met with resistance and threats of violence, presumably from someone with influence.

In the heart of the facility, with everyone gathered, they come face to face once more with Chikage. Together Hisoka and Sakuya point out that future London is not future London at all, but a fake constructed underneath the real thing. Chikage relents and tells them the truth—ten years earlier, he, Tsumugi, and Citron were all working on the time machine together. Citron, claiming it was safe for human testing, suggested they try it out on Tsumugi—with Chikage realising there was a fatal design flaw when it was too late. Chikage dedicated his life to going back in time to stop the accident, while Citron clawed his way up to bury the truth of the explosion’s casualties.

Once he finished his story, Sakuya realises that if they aren’t in the future, then Azuma must be a fake—which Hisoka reinforces with information from Tsuzuru: Azuma is in fact Tsumugi’s younger brother, who was left alone in the world after the accident.

“Because of you, I lost my only family. You think that you suffered? You couldn’t possibly understand.” Azuma slips off the wig, shaking out his real hair. “This isn’t revenge. It’s justice, over single-minded scientists and corrupt politicians.”

 

_ It isn’t their fault. _

Azuma is sure of himself now.

_ I know it isn’t. _

_ He might not be here any more, but Hajime-niisan can live on in Hisoka and Chikage’s memories. _

He looks at them, full of passion and life in their acting.

_ And I’ll do everything I can to protect that. _

 

“...hold on, so if the future Professor was actually Clive, then who’s…?”

Sakuya turns to Tsumugi in confusion, but before there can be any more explanation, Azuma grabs Masumi and runs, set to destroy the city that took his family from him.

 

* * *

 

After running around in the facility, Tsumugi discovers a way to have it self-destruct before any real damage can be made. As the building collapses, Hisoka and Sakuya free Citron and Masumi—but Tsumugi stops before they can leave.

“Please. Let me go back for Clive.”

“...it’s too dangerous.” Hisoka isn’t looking him in the eye.

“He’s not the only one to blame...you know that.”

With that, Hisoka gives in, letting Tsumugi run back for Azuma, who had gotten knocked unconscious in the commotion.

“It’s alright. I’m here.”

Azuma looks up, bleary-eyed, barely awake.

“...b...brother…?”

 

* * *

As the rubble settles and everyone returns to the surface, there is one mystery unsolved.

Tsumugi, gently, reveals that he did, in fact, survive the explosion—but only because the time machine worked for a split second, sending him ten years into the future, or the present-day. Chikage had been trying to find a way to keep him there and save his life, but Tsumugi convinced him that changing the past was dangerous.

Filled with regret, Azuma apologises to Hisoka, thanking him for coming to help. As it turns out, they did know each other through Tsumugi, and somewhere in Azuma’s heart, he thought if anyone could stop him from his spiral into madness, it would be Hisoka.

But as the two of them begin to reconcile and get emotional over Tsumugi’s return, it becomes clear that his time, so to speak, is up. The time machine cannot support him in the present, so he has to return to his own time, to his death.

“Promise me you won’t forget?” says Tsumugi, smiling at Hisoka, Chikage, and Azuma.

“Our shared past...”

 

_ “August, I’m telling you, I’m fine without sleeping. Don’t worry about it.” _

April has learned to take others’ hands and walk alongside them—

_ “I like it here...it’s warm and comfortable...thank you, August.” _

December has found his place in the world—

_ “Niisan, when I grow up, let’s go all around the world together! It’s a promise!” _

—and Azuma is no longer on his own.

 

“...and our lost future.”

Tsumugi lets go of Hisoka’s hands, and walks offstage.

Hisoka walks to the centre of the stage, alone, the tears sliding down his cheeks as he looks into the sky.

 

The curtain drops.

* * *

 

 

As the audience excitedly left the theatre, some still drying their tears, a man walked up to Izumi.

“Excuse me, would it be alright if I had a spare poster?”

She cheerfully hands it to him, lightly bowing her head.

“Here you go! Thank you very much for coming.”

He smiled. “If i’m not mistaken, you’re the director, right? Thank you for an amazing performance, and please let the actors know they’re doing wonderfully.”

He walked away, leaving Izumi with a strange sense of bewilderment.

“Hmm, Tsuzuru-kun? Did you see that man? He seemed familiar somehow, and definitely not like a regular fan. I wonder who he was.” She paused, thoughtful. “Actually, he looked a little like Azuma-san, maybe?”

“Wait, what?”

Tsuzuru scanned the crowd, but saw nothing, the pale silver hair receding into the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> story clear!
> 
> SLIGHTLY LATE BUT HERE IT IS writing this part was hell please never let me do another play i'm wheezing  
> i tried to write it the way that esute plays are structured, with the actors' thoughts interspersed in the actual play???? i hope it isn't too jarring
> 
> the epilogue gets trashed bc of august's canon appearance sO IT ENDS HERE but yea yea yea thanks for reading i know it's long as hell, if you wanna talk to me i'm at @esnoyuuutsu on twitter!!


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